Cutting down on food waste whilst improving your bank balance
The Monthly Ink Environmental Focus
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Saving money and cutting food waste is easier than you think
This is the second of our new monthly environmental columns by Rebecca Clements, who has a passion for writing, community and all things Swindon.
By Environmental Reporter Rebecca Clements
If your clothing has developed a sudden aversion to fitting you comfortably after the festive period, let’s just say that you are in excellent (and slightly overstuffed) company.
Here in the UK, we will have consumed around ten million turkeys this Christmas, along with 25 million Christmas puddings, 800 million mince pies, and around 750 million Brussels sprouts. Not to mention the 208 million boxes of chocolates we all chomped through on Christmas Day alone (guilty!)
The impact on our bank accounts and environment
However, whilst our clothing may be feeling full following the festive period, it is sadly all too often the opposite story for our poor empty bank accounts. A report by the Bank of England found that we spend around 20% more on food at Christmas time compared to other months, and whilst this increased spending may be good for retailers, it is certainly not good for our waist bands, our bank accounts, or our waste bins and our environment.
Increased food spending also equates to increased food wastage, with an additional two million turkeys being binned here in the UK, along with five million uneaten Christmas puddings and seven million pigs in blankets (who wastes those?!) all hitting our bins with a resounding thud.
It’s not just households that are responsible for these worrying Christmas food waste statistics. Supermarkets, restaurants, pubs, and hotels also all generate more food waste across the festive season.
Whilst we may shed some of that extra weight we have gained (well, we can but hope), sadly, food waste does not end there. According to UK charity Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) the average household will go on to waste around 12% of the food that is purchased throughout the year, which equates to around £1,000 worth of decent food hitting our bins per year for an average household of four.
The food we are all wasting is causing a significant and detrimental impact on our environment. Food production requires a huge amount of land, water, and other resources, and when our food is wasted, these vital resources are also wasted, which is leading to deforestation.
Food waste that ends up in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The production, transportation and handling of food generates significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions and there is no doubt that food waste emissions are significantly contributing to global warming.